It Changes Everything
by L 0 K I
Summary: SesshoumaruKagome. sql to TTAL. Kagome is trying to come to grips with the curse placed on her and Sesshoumaru, but Inuyasha is making it increasingly difficult. Sesshoumaru isn't helping, either.
1. Chapter One: Home is Where the Heart Is

(AN)---sequel to 'Three Times A Lady'!  Read that first then come back.  I feel like this one is a lot better, so far, but maybe I'm deluding myself?  It starts out very light, then abruptly switches gears.  I hope it isn't too OOC.

Why didn't I post this as more chapters to TTAL?  Because I think the tone of the story changes enough to warrant separation.  You will find the same humor in it still...but the seriousness-factor raises along with the romance.  With TTAL I set out to write something kind of cute and funny, but not silly.  I will try to carry that thread over to ICE.  

ICE?  Omg!  The initials for 'it changes everything' spell out 'ice'!  how nifty is...ah yes, I _am very strange.  :-D_

Disclaimer: not mine.

Please review!  Thanks!  ^_^

It Changes Everything

Chapter One: 

Home is Where the Heart Is

How do I get myself into these situations, Kagome asked the swaying ground.  She kicked her leg one last time, just to hear him curse, just to let him know she wasn't happy.  She had started out wriggling and screaming from Kaede's hut, but stopped when she realized she wasn't getting anywhere.  At least, nowhere she wanted to be.  She sighed again, rounded her small hand into a fist and slammed it down once.  He grunted in response.

Sun beat down on her back as they cleared the trees.  Two more leaps, which he only did to make her stomach lurch to the base of her throat, and they were there.

Inuyasha swung her down off his shoulder none too gently, and held her, feet dangling and all, over the dry well.

"Stay there until I come to get you."

"Put me down, Inuyasha!" was her answer, "I'm not going back!"  Knowing how sensitive his ears were, she made sure to scream her demands as loudly and shrilly as possible.  Then kicked him in the side.

Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head, his claws tightening around her waist.  "Go home, Kagome."

"No."  She crossed her arms stubbornly, turning her head and sticking her nose up in the air.

"Go.Home."  He punctured each word with a swift shake.  

Kagome's hair flew into her eyes and she glared out at him through it.  "I don't want to."

Inuyasha's lips curved into a smile, his hands opened and down she fell, her startled scream cutting off as she disappeared.

Kagome landed in her own time, and immediately jumped to her feet.  She flew up the ladder like it was a bad habit, turned around at the top and pushed off.

Or started to.  She froze, her hand scrambling for purchase at one of the old rungs.  Inuyasha stood at the bottom of the well, arms held tight across his chest and his gold eyes narrow.  Kagome glared down at him, her lip sticking out into an annoyed pout.  But then her glare turned into a grin.  She leaned out from the ladder, her hair falling over her shoulder in a silky black wave.  Inuyasha's hands dropped to his sides, and his eyes widened.

"Don't," he began, but before he could continue, Kagome shoved away from the ladder and leaped into the well.

Barely giving herself time to touch down, the young miko scrambled up the side of the well, her feet sliding and her hands clutching at the old vines.  She cleared the top like a mermaid sunbathing on a rock, and was about to hop out when a hand wrapped around her ankle.  Not pausing to be surprised, Kagome kicked at Inuyasha as he tried to drag her back down into the well.

"Bitch, let go of the side!"

"NO!  You let go of ME!"

"NEVER!"

Kagome gave him one more kick, then hooked her arms over the side of the well, making sure her grip on it was nice and secure.  She wasn't going back.

"I'll say it!"

Inuyasha cursed, his hand tightening around her leg and his claws digging into her sock.  "Do it!  I'll just pull you down with me!"

Kagome nearly disappeared over the edge, but she dragged herself back up, stepping on the hand weighing her down with her free foot.  She ground the heel of her shoe into his fingers and heard him curse again.

_That's it.  I warned him.  "Osuwari!"_

She could hear frantic scratching from inside the well.  Inuyasha jerked on her leg as the magic of the prayer beads tried to force him down to the nearest patch of ground.  Her already too large sock slid down to pool around her ankle, then both it and the shoe came free in Inuyasha's hand.  He clutched them as he fell.

"HA!" Kagome gave a shout of joy, was out of the well and scurrying back towards Kaede's village as fast as her human legs would carry her.  Though, with one bare foot, her run was a little off balance.

Inuyasha dropped out of the trees onto the walk-worn path before her.  Kagome came up short, ready to scream out her frustration until his ears bled.

"I will say IT until your bones break, Inuyasha!  I SWEAR I WILL!"

The hanyou didn't shout back, as was customary.  He stared at her quietly with her sock and shoe still held in his hand.  "Kagome, go home.  Please."

She hesitated, her anger falling out.  She knew he was only worried about her, and with reason.  She had accidentally been roped into a family curse with his murdering half-brother.  She liked to believe his anxiety was borne from a fear of losing her, but she didn't think that was completely it.  Just as she didn't fully believe that he loved her more, or even as much, as he loved Kikyou...the doubt came from the same place.

"You want me to go hide in my own time," she whispered haltingly.  She stared with unseeing eyes at the ground for one long moment, then turned her soft blue-grey gaze up to him.  For some reason it hurt, the fact that he wanted her to hide rather than face the battle with him head-on.  It made her feel young and weak.

"You'll be safer there."

Kagome shook her head, one short gesture.  In a small voice she said, "Kaede-bachan thinks he can cross the well."  She stared at Inuyasha's face for a flicker of comprehension, but his expression did not change.

"He can't.  Don't worry."  He sounded so sure, and she didn't know why.  She wished she did.

"She says it's possible."

Inuyasha huffed.  "The well only works for us.  You know that, Kagome."

"But it works for us because we're linked, through the Shikon no Tama and these..." she reached up and fingered the rosary around his neck, making the beads _clink together.  "Now, through this curse, Sesshoumaru and I may be linked."_

Inuyasha stilled her hand on the prayer beads, pressing it gently against his chest and curving his fingers around hers.  "It's not permanent, Kagome.  We'll get through it."

"I hope you're right."

He smiled at her reassuringly, "I know I am."

Kagome smiled back.  Inuyasha could be so sweet when he wanted to be.  It was a pity he almost never wanted to be.  

She blinked as he continued to stare at her, his hand tightening on hers.  _Hmmm?  He was leaning forward now, his long pale hair swinging over his shoulders.  One tress brushing her hand.  __Is he...?  She leaned forward in the same motion, her eyes growing wider as his face came nearer to hers.  They were mere inches apart, his eyes steady on her eyes, drawing her forward, drawing her in.  Their quickened breaths mingled.  __It's going to happen...It's—_

Understanding struck.  Ripped through her mind like bright, screaming claws.  She gasped, shoving away from him and jerking her hand free of his so fast that she stumbled.  She took one step back from him, and then another.  Her eyes wide with anger, fear, and pain.  She glared at him with that mixed stare, and her already panting breath shortened.

"You...You won't kill him through me!" she whispered hoarsely.  With that she turned and stomped to the well, finally ready to go home.  Needing to go home.

Inuyasha watched her go, stood long moments staring after the image of her sudden tears in his mind.  With a growl he threw her shoe, it striking a nearby tree and splintering it.  "Stupid bitch!  You don't know ANYTHING!"

She knew she spent too much time away when coming home was like going on vacation.  Her family always welcomed her back as if she were their long lost daughter, and though she loved their attention and affection...it always made her feel guilty.   _They deserve better than this.  But she knew they loved her, and they knew she loved them.  And it was enough. _

Food was waiting for her at the table, and she wondered how many nights her mother had prepared her meals only for them to grow cold.  She gratefully flung herself at her mother, her heart swelling so that she feared it would begin spilling out of her eyes.

Mama always made everything all right, and Kagome knew that this curse was just another thing that would blow over.  That she would live through it and be stronger because of it.  She gained all this from her mother's welcoming embrace.

"Kagome," Mrs. Higurashi laughed softly, "you act as if you haven't seen me in years!"

"Sometimes it feels like years, mama," she whispered against the older woman's breast, tightening her arms around her.  After the stunt Inuyasha had pulled, she needed someone to hold her.

Kagome lifted her head, wanting to tell her mother how much she loved her, how much she appreciated her, how lost she would be without her to anchor her in the world.  

Mrs. Higurashi smiled down into her daughter's blue eyes, tucked a lock of her black hair behind her ear.  "Go on up and get Souta.  Let's all eat together tonight."

"Hai!"  Kagome nodded once, smiling.  When on climbing out of the well, she had felt like she didn't have anything left to smile about.  She should have known better.

Higurashi Shrine was silent after ten.  It always was.  Kagome was usually the last to bed, and she liked it that way.  For some reason, knowing that all her family was safe and sound in their own dreams helped her sleep better.  

This night was different.

Kagome exited the bathroom and walked to her room in the dark hush of the hall, her thoughts not filled with peace, but centred on the world that existed in the past.  In her room she absently towel-dried her hair, then began running her brush through it.  Another ritual to try and set her mind at ease, though nothing was helping.

She put the brush down on her desk, pulled her covers back and crawled into her warm, soft bed.  She immediately turned over onto her back and stared at the shadowed ceiling.  The bath should have relaxed her, but it only made her thoughts flow more coherently.  Each one flitted across her mind, and hurt her with its passing.  _To think, I could kill a man with a kiss.  And such a proud and strong man---brought down by such a small thing.  It doesn't seem right.  And Inuyasha.  What would have been our first kiss, and he would have baptized it in blood.  Her heart lurched at that thought, at how close she had come to helping him kill his brother.  Before this curse Inuyasha would have let Sesshoumaru go, or left himself.  He would not have pressed the fight on until one of them died.  Her mind tried to tell her he was just trying to protect her, that he was bothered by the thought of her being with someone else.  But she knew it wasn't that.  At least, not only that.  _

It was Sesshoumaru.

The thought that his brother would have what he coveted...it was showing Kagome a side of Inuyasha she had not known existed.  And still did not want to know.

_But how had I known?  I shouldn't have.  It wasn't a linear thought, an obvious conclusion.  It was just there, telling me.  Warning me...I can't trust Inuyasha's affections right now.  And even if I could, I can't return them.  At that moment, she didn't even want to.  She could understand his hate for his brother, but she couldn't harbor it herself.  Her soul just did not know how to hate so deeply and completely._

The metronome of the wall-clock filled her room, oddly soothing in its familiarity, in its distance from the life she lived in the past.  She let her thoughts ebb on its constant pattern, knowing sleep would soon follow the silence.

Kagome's drooping eyelids flew open, sleep streaking away to be lost in the bitter dark.  She wasn't alone.

_To Be Continued..._

So, what does everybody think?  Is that okay for a beginning?


	2. Chapter Two: Play Nice

(AN)---thanks go out to all reviewers!  ^_^

It Changes Everything

Chapter Two:

Play Nice

Buyo hopped onto the bed and Kagome let out a soft screech of alarm.  The sound was quickly followed by a shaky laugh, and then finally a sigh of relief.  She picked up the neko and scratched him affectionately behind the ears, cradling his ample body to her chest.  _My imagination isn't going to like me very much for awhile..._

"Did you think you would be safe here, miko?"

Kagome nearly fainted from how hard her heart suddenly thumped against her chest.  It was far too soon after her initial shock.  She turned her head and there he was, a towering outline before the soft light that filtered in through her window.  Buyo lifted his head and calmly peered at the dog-demon from the shelter of Kagome's arms.

"That I couldn't follow?  That I would waste away as time ran out?"

"Sesshoumaru," she whispered, she pressed her back against her headboard, but made no further movements to get away.  He couldn't hurt and she knew it.  Not because he said so, but because she felt it.  Just as she knew she couldn't hurt him.  That didn't mean she didn't feel fear quiver all the way down into the base of her stomach.  That fear, however, did not prevent her from latching onto his words.

"Wait a minute, what are you talking about?"

He stared at her, and the steady ticking of her clock emphasized his stillness, gave weight to his silence.  He blinked, one long, graceful sweep of lashes.  "Of course, the hanyou would not tell you."

"Wouldn't tell me what?"  Her mind wound back to the morning, when Inuyasha had tried to kill this creature before her through her kiss.  It was becoming quickly apparent that she could no longer trust Inuyasha, not where Sesshoumaru was concerned.  "What wouldn't he tell me, Sesshoumaru?"

His gold eyes turned on her, bright in the shadowed room.  "If we are not mated by the night of the full moon, the curse will consume this Sesshoumaru.  I will die."

He said it so calmly.  She couldn't breathe past her shock, and he spoke as if death meant nothing to him.  But she stared up at him from her nest of blankets and knew it wasn't true.  An uncaring soul would not have put aside his hate and disgust and sought her out.

The curtains came billowing in and Sesshoumaru turned, Toukijin drawn and already up to meet Tetsusaiga.  Sparks danced in her room where the two demon-swords met, the momentary flash of light illuminating Inuyasha's enraged face.

"Get away form her, Sesshoumaru!"

Sesshoumaru thrust forward and the force of his sword against Tetsusaiga sent Inuyasha flying through the air.  He crashed into Kagome's bedroom wall, knocking the clock down to shatter on the floor.  He rolled to his feet and charged again, swinging Tetsusaiga at his brother in a wide sweeping gesture that took out the lamp on her nightstand.  Sesshoumaru stepped aside, disappeared and reappeared far out of the huge fang's physical reach.

Inuyasha stood, Tetsusaiga's massive blade pointed towards the ceiling and his breath coming out in soft, short pants.  "You waited until nightfall, when you thought I wouldn't be paying attention..."

Sesshoumaru smiled, one of those odd little smiles he got when Inuyasha said something that he found particularly amusing.  "I knew you would follow, dear little brother.  I counted on it."

Inuyasha's growl filled her room, a deep vibration of warning that thrummed against her spine and made her feel as if her whole body was shaking.  Inuyasha brought Tetsusaiga up, ripping a huge gash in her floor as he did so.  Sesshoumaru parried the under-handed swing and came back down with his own.

Kagome jumped from her bed just as the two fangs met again, metal screeching on metal.  "Stop it," she screamed, her hands clutched at her sides as the tension in the room poured over her.  "Stop fighting!"  Something thudded into her, just barely, but enough to send her falling back onto her bed.  The room was far too small for two people to fight, let alone three.  Throw two swords into the mix and her room was quickly becoming a disaster area.

Her anger riled, and a head-ache blossoming in her head, Kagome stomped right into the middle of the battle with no regard for demon or blade.  Bypassing Sesshoumaru, who had stopped when he saw her enter his line of vision, Kagome grabbed one of Inuyasha's white ears and squeezed it hard.

He yelped, his sword arm dropping and Tetsusaiga de-transforming.

"I said, STOP FIGHTING!"  She made sure to scream it directly into his face, keeping one eye on Sesshoumaru to make sure he didn't make any threatening moves.  The full-blooded youkai sheathed Toukijin, leaving his hand resting casually on the hilt.

"I'm protecting you, bitch!  Don't you get that?!"

"What?!  Protecting me from the truth?!  Why didn't you tell me there were conditions to the curse?"

Inuyasha's struggling away from her squeezing fingers stopped.  He stared at her for several seconds, then said, quietly, "You want free of him, _don't you?"_

"Not.enough.to.kill.for.it," she ground out slowly, each word dragging through her throat in anger.

He jerked away from her, and she let him go.  Watched as he rubbed at his bruised ear and slid Tetsusaiga into its scabbard.

"Out," she said.  "Get out now."

The two dogs stared at her, then each other.

"You heard her," Inuyasha growled at his brother, his hand falling back down to curl around his sword's ragged hilt.

"I believe she was referring to you, halfling," Sesshoumaru said.  "The miko and I...have _business to discuss.  It does not concern you."_

"Stay away from her!"

"Make me."

Kagome twitched, and again.  A fine line of trembling took her body, and when she raised her head, both brothers stepped back.  Their expressions almost identical.  

"Both of you.  Out."

Again, they stared at her, then each other.

"You first."

"No, you."

"You!"

"You."

"Just go, DAMN IT!"

"OUT!" Kagome screamed.  "OUT-OUT-OUT-OUT-OUT-OUT..."  She went over to her wall and kicked it, once for every howl that erupted from her mouth.  It was that or pour her frustration out on the two creatures that so obviously deserved it.  When she was done her foot was sore and her voice was just a hoarse chant reminiscent of her initial shriek.  Her hands fell to the wall, palms flat, and she leaned against it tiredly.

They were gone, having fled the sight of a seriously brassed-off miko.

She didn't know which one had swallowed his pride, conceded the 'battle', and left first---her eyes had been closed.  She didn't know nor did she really care.  All she knew was that if they hadn't gone, she would have done something horrible.  Lifting her head, she stared around at the mess that had once been her nice and tidy room.  She sighed.

Glass crunched behind her and Kagome spun around, a fierce growl of warning already spilling from her throat.  

Mrs. Higurashi peered in through the half-open door, her eyes wide.  "Kagome, are you alright?  What was all that noise?"

Kagome's head thumped against the wall.

_TBC..._

So, was that anti-climatic or what? ^_^ Sorry about the wait, but I have this little personal rule over not posting a chapter of a story until I have at least part of the next chapter written.  It doesn't make sense, I know.  I'm having problems with chapter three, but some parts are finally beginning to unwind in my mind a little.  I only hope I can get it done.  Of course, you can also blame the lateness of this chapter on "Juxtaposition".  Is it natural to be sucked into your own story?  It keeps demanding that I write on it, though it is less popular than this one.  Oh well, I write where my ideas take me. ^_^

A few of you have expressed concerns about the curse.  If you haven't read "Three Times a Lady", that may help you a little with the background.  But truth is, I'll be revealing the nature of the 'curse' through Kagome.  Whatever information she learns, you will learn.  She has already learned three bits of info.  One, that she and Sesshoumaru cannot harm each other physically.

Two, that the 'curse' is mystical and potentially dangerous to Sesshoumaru, if she...I don't know the word to use.  "Cheats" is so generic.  That's where the kiss factored in the first chapter.  You have to remember the 'curse' roped her in as being 'his mate', so conditions will spring up to try and force her into that mold.

Speaking of which, let me say something that may seem a little off-topic, but has always bothered me about fics in the IY fandom...Dogs do not mate for life.  Dogs only mate to produce pups, and then they go on their merry way as soon as the act is done.  In fact, some dogs will even attack their pups if they come across them again.  Incidentally, that factors into the story later on.  Consider it a spoiler. ^_^  I suppose it's okay to say that YOUKAI mate for life, but I get a little annoyed when the statement is based on the fact that Sesshoumaru and/or Inuyasha are dogs.  Not trying to upset anybody with stories centred around the 'mating' concept, I have read some that have made me completely forget that little fact.  But...just something I've always wanted to point out, but never had a place to do so.

Okay, now we can get back to the core of the topic!  ^_^  The third condition that has been presented is that there IS a time-limit.  Now, some of you may have groaned at that inclusion, but just bare with me.  The time-limit is the catalyst to get things moving.  I fully believe that if nothing were there to poke at our heroine(and anti-hero), then Sesshoumaru would either try to kill Kagome (again), or not even pay attention.   It also takes the place of the 'in heat' plot device, and let's all breathe a sigh of relief for that. :-D This is so much better than turning Sesshoumaru into a hormone-driven monster, believe me.  :-)  *thinks a moment* Though that can be fun, too.  If done right.  But that is a common plot in S/K fics, and I am trying to steer clear of some of the clichés.  Though I will use them if they are logical steps in a story. ^_^

Is that a long AN or is that a long AN?  Have I helped anyone with their questions?  Or just helped to confuse more?  :-\


	3. Chapter Three: Some Things Never Change

(AN) :-/ I'm not exactly happy with this chapter.  I mean, some parts just would not translate into written word the way I wanted them to.  I tried, more than once actually.  This is the third version of this chapter.  Writer's block is trying to take hold, but instead of giving in, I'm fighting it.  I've come to the decision that a good portion of 'inspiration' is nothing more than 'initiative'.  So, a-writing I will go!

Um, there was a question about Kagome's age.  In this fic I'm assuming she is 17.  I'm not sure how old she is in the series now...nobody seems to be getting any older. O_o  I know she started out as fifteen, what I don't know is if the series is one of those where the characters tend to not age, or their age isn't discussed.  I mean, logically Kagome should be at least 17, but she appears to *still* be 15.  I dunno.  She is 17 here.

It Changes Everything

Chapter Three:

Some Things Never Change

It wasn't easy, explaining to her mother how two demons had suddenly manifested in her room, and proceeded to tear it apart.  It was even less easy when the story came to their departure, and after that, why they had been there in the first place.  Looking into her mother's softly concerned eyes, Kagome couldn't do it.  She couldn't tell her they were 'fighting over her'.  That, in itself, wasn't so bad, but eventually she would have been forced to say a word she wasn't ready to discuss with her mother yet.  It began with 's', ended with 'x', and sounded suspiciously like the word 'hex'.

So, she had gone the route of the coward, telling some story about youkai and shikon shards, punctuating her words with numerous exaggerated movements and sound effects.  It was a complete and utter lie, but what was the truth?  _Mama, I have a mate!  And he's a demon!  But he's actually more like a curse..._

Kagome sighed.  Lying to her mother had put her in a bad mood, but it also brought her a new perspective on the situation.  And so, she was marching across the courtyard to the well-house, ready to deal with the dogs and anything else that came her way.  She was going to get answers today, she was going to be heard---or someone was going to get hurt!

With that thought ringing in her head, she leaped into the well, completely bypassing the conveniently placed ladder.  Climbing down meant slowing down.  She had a goal now and nothing was gonna stop her from reaching it.

Emerging five hundred years in the past, Kagome didn't give her customary pause to admire the beauty and fresh air of the Sengoku Jidai.  She hopped out of the well, hopped over the twisted remains of her bike, and started toward Kaede's village in a dead-stomp.

A low wind stirred her hair into movement.  Kagome looked up just in time to see Kirara clear the canopy of the forest, with Sango sitting bestride in full battle-gear.  Her armor appeared battered and her hair swirled half-free around her shoulders, while the other half still clung hopelessly to its previous incarnation as a ponytail.

Sighting the miko, the exterminator shouted, "Kagome-chan!"

At the same time, a thrashing through the underbrush brought Kagome around to her original path, her eyes wide and confused.  Miroku ran full-tilt out of the woods, swinging his staff in a crescent before him.  Oddly enough, the action seemed like a warning, or a warding-off.  His usually pristine robes were torn, ragged along one black sleeve, and various leaves and twigs were sticking out of his hair.

Seeing her, he cried, "Kagome-sama!"

"Kagome Kagome!" squealed a ball of fur that suddenly attached itself to her waist.  Her arms immediately wound around the shaking mess that was Shippou, her hands trembling as they stroked soothingly over his hair.  Gone was her purpose, lost in the screaming of her fully aroused mother-instinct.  It demanded that she find the source of his fear and Destroy.It.  Nothing else mattered.

Gripping the kitsune protectively against her body, she turned on the monk, knowing he would present the situation as quickly and clearly as possible.  So many questions---was it Naraku?  Was it a shikon shard?

"What is it?!  Wha—"

Miroku dove to the ground, covering his head as the line of trees exploded into splinters behind him.  Kagome flinched back, curving her body into a shield over Shippou.

The ground shuddered as something struck it, a blur of colour that cut a long, smoking furrow into the earth.  Kagome only had a fraction of a second to register the red of Inuyasha's haori before he leaped, barely dodging Toukijin as Sesshoumaru brought the demon-sword down in one powerful swing.  Bolts of decimating light pulsed out from the double-edged blade, ripping apart all that it touched.

In the same instant, both dogs were lost again to her weaker human sight, leaving only blurs of movement and smoldering trails of aftermath.  The once peaceful clearing looked as if some great giant had come and clawed up handfuls of dirt, flinging it into the air.  Shippou whimpered, burrowing his face in her side.

Miroku collapsed beside her, startling the miko out of her stupor.  A cloud of dust and leaves stirred from his stained robes.  A great shadow passed over them as Kirara circled overhead, looking no better than those on the ground.

Miroku coughed, "We've tried to keep them away from the village..."

Kagome's mouth closed and her wide blue eyes narrowed.  "How long have they been fighting?"

"Hours."

"HOURS?!"

"Hai.  All morning, most of the night, too."

_Since I sent them away.__  Stupid dogs!  I am sick to death of this!  Kagome gently pried the kitsune from her and settled him into Miroku's arms.  The monk held Shippou then looked up at her curiously.  Kagome didn't pay any attention to him; her blue eyes purposefully scanned the small area around the well._

"I would not step between them, Kagome-sama," Miroku advised.

"Too late for that," she said, glancing down at him meaningfully.  The monk blinked, but then his lips curved slightly.  He nodded his agreement.  "Kagome-sama is brave."

Kagome gave him a thankful, but weak smile.  She turned, not really certain of how she could put an end to the battle.  Of course, she knew exactly how to get Inuyasha's attention.  Taking a deep breath, Kagome opened her mouth and screamed, "INUYASHA!"

As if by magic, there was a flash of red from the trees and the hanyou appeared, his mouth twisted with annoyance, and his ears laid flat against his head.  He stared at her through narrow, slitted eyes, but there was definite worry in them.  "What the hell do you want, bitch?!  Can't you see I'm busy?!"

"OSUWARI!"

The half-demon met the ground face-first and the miko immediately flung herself across him, curling her smaller body around his protectively.  Toukijin stopped in mid-stroke, crackling so close to her face that she could feel the heat radiating off the blade.  She wrapped her arms as best she could around the prone form of Inuyasha, but she glared up at Sesshoumaru.

"I'll kiss him," she whispered, though it came out much louder than she planned.  She was too scared to play it so cool.

The demon lord stared down at her, and she saw his hand tighten reflexively on the hilt of his sword.  It was the only reaction that betrayed him.  Expertly bringing Toukijin up, he sheathed it in one motion and stepped back.

Then and only then was Kagome able to take a breath.  She slumped against Inuyasha, then eeped as the hanyou sat up under her.  He wrapped his arms around her waist, steadying her, but she shoved free of him, climbing to her feet all on her own.

Ignoring Inuyasha at her back, she continued to stare at Sesshoumaru.  Now was as good a time as any, especially with her last 'threat' still fresh in his mind.  She really wouldn't kill him over something so small, but he didn't need to know that.

"I want answers about this curse.  And I'm going to get them, one way or another."

Her 'mate' looked down his nose at her, obviously not liking the tone with which she spoke.  She didn't shrivel under the glare, as he seemed to expect.  She knew he couldn't hurt her.  After a moment he appeared to reach the same understanding.  He crossed his one arm over his chest and gave a curt nod.

There was a cough.  Kagome looked past Sesshoumaru to see all her friends assembled.  Sango was back on the ground with a de-transformed Kirara balanced in one hand, and Hiraikotsu in the other.  Miroku set the blunt end of his staff firmly in the dirt.

"If it will help, Kagome-sama, you may kiss me, too."

Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru growled at Miroku.

Kagome groaned, pressing her hand over her closed eyes.

Sango calmly lifted Hiraikotsu...and WHACKED the monk on the head.

Kagome sat across from Kaede-bachan in her hut, the empty fire-place nestled into the floor between them.  She was waiting for those 'answers' she had been promised.  Problem was, Sesshoumaru had disappeared soon after Miroku fell unconscious.  This, of course, delighted Inuyasha, but only helped to fuel the miko's aggravation on.

Wisely, all her friends had found other places to be.  Except Shippou, who obeyed different rules where Kagome was concerned.  He bounced cheerfully in her lap as she complained to Kaede about stubborn youkai, curses, and males in general.

The shrewd old miko kept quiet, nodding her head from time to time when the conversation called for it.

Afternoon light slanted in through the suddenly open door.  Sesshoumaru cast his gold eyes around the sparsely furnished hut, then stepped in.  Kagome glared at him as he approached her, though her mind didn't quite feel it.  It seemed stuck on how out-of-place he was in such a modest, _human_ setting.

"Kon'nichi wa, Sesshoumaru-sama," Kaede said politely, peering up at him with her one good eye.

The youkai lord ignored her, dropped a scroll at the miko's side.

Kagome's hand immediately shot out to catch it as it started to roll away from her.  Setting Shippou down, she leaned forward and smoothed it out, placing a hand on each end to keep it from curling back up.  Her eyes poured over the writing, then narrowed on the inuyoukai.

"I can't read this," she said.

"That is not my concern," he said. 

The miko twitched, her hand tightening unnoticeably on one end of the scroll.  Shippou, smarter than one would think when looking at his cute little bow, immediately leaped to his tiny paws and scampered around to the other side of his 'adopted mother'.

Kaede took the scroll out of Kagome's hands, snapping the fuming girl's attention to her.  The old miko lifted the scroll.  "I can read this," she said simply, as if she was completely unaware of the disaster that she had just averted.

Shippou let out a relieved sigh, plopping down on the floor.  Kagome crawled around the empty fire to Kaede's side, looking at the mass of old writing that vaguely resembled her own language.  But not enough.

"Hmm..."

Kagome looked at the old woman expectantly, as her one eye traveled farther and farther down the scroll.

"Very interesting."  Kaede seemed to stop at one part, her eye back-tracked, then continued.  She had a thoughtful look on her age-lined face.

Kagome started to hop up and down impatiently.  "What is it?!  What is it?!"

Sesshoumaru stared down at the girl as she bounced across the floor.  It was a clever disguise, he reasoned.  But he knew personally what lay behind her mask.  She could act as kind and sweet as she wanted, fooling all her friends, even his stupid half-brother.  But he knew.  He didn't even need to see the scar he still carried from her arrow.  He could feel it.  On its own his hand raised, pressing against his chest where the girl had struck him.  Then he seemed to catch himself.  He looked down at his empty hand and frowned.  His fingers curled into a fist.

Kagome glanced up once as Kaede began to read the scroll out-loud to her.  Just long enough to watch the flap on the door flutter closed.

_TBC..._

Hmm, well, I have half of chapter four done.  And I must say, it is turning out to be a strange chapter.  *nods passionately, then gives wide, frightened eyes*  More of the curse will be revealed, and other little tidbits.  I'll probably be adding another run-down of the curse, just to keep things clear.  It's turning out to be a complex little bugger, isn't it?  ^_^

Also, I think poor Sesshoumaru is going to finally start realizing what exactly he has gotten himself into with sweet, little Kagome.  Let's all pity the unfortunate demon for a moment.  :-D  Okay, moment over!

All my thanks go to those who have reviewed!  ^_^  I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter, so please tell me what you think of it!?


	4. Chapter Four: Now You Don't

(AN) Sorry about the cliffhangers! :-/ They keep happening!  I can't seem to stop!  If you thought that last one was bad---you're, uh, really gonna wanna to kill me now!  O_O hehehe *gulp*

Most of this chapter pretty much wrote itself (I love when they do that!) but it's really kind of...odd?  Oh yeah, it is definitely odd.

Well, anyway, read and tell me what you think! ^_^

It Changes Everything

Chapter Four:

Now You Don't

He was just sitting there!  In his territory!  How dare he!  Inuyasha paced back in forth at the edge of the forest like a wild animal in a cage.  How could he just sit there?!  His gold eyes never left his brother.  His claws curled and uncurled at his sides, as if they were itching to just wrap around the youkai lord's insulting throat.

Sesshoumaru had found a nicely situated rock close to a small lake not far from the well.  It was the perfect place, he had decided, to show off his beauty and irritate his half-brother, all at the same time.  A double-pleasure.  He tilted his head back, knowing the sunlight reflecting off the water would play across his pale hair, his neck, bring his youkai-markings to a bright, glowing contrast.

A growl could be heard in the distance, but the youkai lord ignored it, his face an interesting mix of tranquility and boredom.

The growling got louder.

Inuyasha spun around, ready to grab his brother up by his collar and pound him with the rock he was sitting on.  He nearly tripped as Miroku just suddenly appeared at his right, and Sango at his left.

"Don't do it," the monk said, looking at his fingernails.

"Ignore him, Inuyasha," Sango sighed.

Inuyasha snarled at the two annoying humans, took a step forward, but stopped as Miroku's staff crossed before him, the rings clinking together.

"Don't do it," Miroku repeated, sounding less interested than before.  If that was even at all possible.

The half-demon promptly shoved the staff out of his way and started stomping towards the 'oblivious' Sesshoumaru.

His two 'guards' watched him go.

"Well," Miroku said, "We tried."

Sango nodded.  "We did."

"Ready?"

"Yep."

Miroku swung his staff into Inuyasha's stomach, effectively doubling him over.  At the same time, Sango lifted Hiraikotsu off her back and brought it down in one graceful arc against the back of the hanyou's head.  Inuyasha collapsed to the ground, out-cold for the second time that hour.

Had anybody bothered to look over at Sesshoumaru, they probably would have screamed then fainted dead away.  The full-blooded youkai smiled.  A small, little thing, but a smile nonetheless.  He quickly shook the unfamiliar expression from his face and turned his attention back to the water as if he weren't aware of anything else.

Settling Hiraikotsu back in its rightful place, the demon hunter looked to her companion.  "Tell me again why we have to baby-sit the half-brothers from hell?"  Just as a precautionary measure, she stepped back so she had a perfect view of the monk's wandering hands.

"Because Kagome-sama needs some time.  Besides, don't you think this is good practice?"

"How's that?"  Sango's eyes narrowed suspiciously, her hand sliding up to inconspicuously grasp Hiraikotsu's handle.  But before the monk could even say the very lewd comment all knew was coming, the exterminator's head raised, her eyes widening.  "Do you feel that?"

Miroku licked his lips, "Feel what, dear Sango?"

Sango shot him a withering look, her hand tightening around Hiraikotsu with the desire to just put him out of her misery.  "Focus, houshi!" she snapped.

Miroku blinked, raising his head up, too.  It was at that time they noticed Sesshoumaru, who had stopped 'sunbathing' and was staring intently at the trees behind them.  He blinked once, slowly, then relaxed back on his one arm.  The entire action was very close to a 'shrug', without being one at all.

"Something's coming," Miroku hissed the obvious, holding his staff out before him.  Sango, taking her cue from him, brought her boomerang down again.  Both of them slipped instantly into a fighting stance.

Inuyasha stirred on the ground, rubbing tenderly at his abused head.  He stopped, just as Kagome appeared out of the forest.  It was so unexpected that both Sango and Miroku gasped.  She stomped right past them.  Inuyasha jumped to his feet, running to keep up with her.

"Bitch, where have you---"

Kagome didn't even look at him.  "Osuwari."

Inuyasha ate a mouthful of dirt as the miko stomped on.  She stopped at the rock Sesshoumaru was sitting on and slapped her hands on her hips.  "I thought you were a victim of this curse, like me, but the scroll says that the spell only works if it's cast by one of those involved.  Is.This.True?"

Sesshoumaru glanced down at her, then back out again.  "It is."

Kagome's eyes grew wide.  "You cursed me.  ME!  Why?!"

"My reasons are not your concern, human."

"Not my..."  Kagome twitched; she took one step toward the demon, but stopped as Miroku and Sango appeared in front of her.

"Don't do it, Kagome-sama."

"Ignore him, Kagome-chan."

The miko raised a confused eyebrow at her friends, then shook her head.  "Excuse me," she said, _politely pushing past them.  The action actually looked more like a barely disguised lunge.  The monk caught one arm and the exterminator held the other, effectively 'containing' her.  Sesshoumaru looked down on the scene blankly._

The smaller girl struggled between her friends, her hands flailing around in tight-knuckled fists.  "Is that how your kind reproduces," she screamed at the demon lord, "By CURSING the females into MATING WITH YOU!?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed.  "I have given you a great compliment, girl."

"COMPLIMENT," she spat in outrage, her blue eyes promising pain.  If she could just get free.

With one hand on Kagome, Miroku nonchalantly stuck his staff out to the side, tripping Inuyasha as he charged at his brother.  The hanyou made a sound that might have been a curse as dirt filled his mouth yet again.  He, otherwise, went unnoticed.

"You will be the mother of _my child and a prince.  Of course, you will gain a title as well."  To Sesshoumaru, the discussion was over.  He expected her full compliance now.  In fact, any moment she would be falling at his feet to paw and fawn over him.  Humans were such simple creatures._

"Did it ever occur to you," she screeched, "that I don't want to bear your stupid child!?"

The youkai lord looked down on her, his eyes mimicking something that might have been surprise.  No, that particular thought had never crossed his mind.  And now that it had, he didn't like it one bit.  He calmly straightened and hopped down, landing on Inuyasha's back as he lay sprawled out at the base of the rock.  The monk and demon hunter backtracked, dragging the still furious miko between them.  It was good to keep her hands a certain distance from the demon.

Sesshoumaru glared at the overly emotional human and snorted.  "Stop your struggling, girl.  Or have you forgotten that any pain you deal me will only be returned to you?"

Kagome blinked, going slack in her friends' hands.  After a moment, she visibly pouted.  Had her arms been free she probably would have crossed them stubbornly over her chest.

"Oi," said Kaede, calmly walking into the epicenter.  Shippou followed her with wide eyes, his little hands wringing before him.  He hadn't missed the show.

"You left before I could finish reading the scroll, Ka-go-me."  The old miko immediately brandished the said scroll for all to see.

Kagome blushed sheepishly.  She settled onto her feet as Miroku and Sango cautiously released her arms.  "I'm sorry, Kaede-bachan.  Please continue, I suppose everybody should hear it."

Kaede stared at her pointedly for one moment, then shrugged.  "It says here that the 'curse' is actually just...the 'bitch' bestowing her favour on her chosen mate."

"Huh," Kagome said, displaying her confusion in a very unladylike manner.  Sesshoumaru inwardly sighed.

Kaede looked at the group before her, from Shippou standing nervously at her side, to Sesshoumaru nonchalantly grinding Inuyasha's face into the ground with the heel of his foot.  She wondered, not for the first time, if any of them were really mature enough to even be hearing this conversation.

Finally, she said, "When a bitch goes into heat, many youkai will come to mate with her.  They will fight and kill amongst themselves for the 'privilege'."

Kagome's mind processed the last part of the old woman's words before the first, mainly because she was still hanging on to her previous anger.  Glancing resentfully at Sesshoumaru, she said, "How barbaric."  Then blinked.  Her eyes shot back to Kaede.  "What?!"

The old miko sighed, but didn't say anything.

After a moment, Kagome's mouth snapped closed, only to fall open again.  "I'm not a bitch."

Inuyasha snorted, but fortunately for him, the sound did not carry through dirt.

Not having to hear the hanyou to know exactly what his response would be, Kagome snapped, "I'M NOT!"

Everyone quickly nodded, some because they weren't stupid, and others because they were following the 'trend'.  Inuyasha tried to struggle up, but his hands slid in the dirt, and then his face.  Sesshoumaru pressed down harder, just to help him out.

"Besides," Kagome was going on, "If it's the bi---female's choice, then how did _he cast it over me?"_

"Traditionally, it is the female," Kaede said, "but it doesn't have to be.  A male can cast it while the female is on the verge of going into heat, so that when she _does_ go into heat she is already spoken for.  It prevents most fights of dominance." Kaede rolled the scroll up, that was really all there was left to say.  "Though, in that case, it only works if the female expresses an interest in the male as a potential mate."

"Wait!"  Kagome held up a hand, "You lost me there."  Turning to Sesshoumaru, she gave the inuyoukai a glare that clearly said 'got you!'.  "When did *I* show ANY interest in YOU?"

Sesshoumaru stepped off his brother, but made sure to put a little bounce in his step before leaving completely.  Kagome saw the step and immediately backed away one, then tried to pretend she hadn't moved at all.

"A _bitch," he said, "will often initiate mock-fights to test the virility of a potential mate."_

The miko shook her head furiously, then grasped it between her hands.  "I don't understand what you are saying!"

"Foreplay," Sesshoumaru said simply, snapping all eyes to him.  Of course, all eyes quickly swung to Kagome.

Kagome sputtered.  "Gah...I didn't do such a thing with him!  Don't look at me like THAT!"

Inuyasha shoved himself between Kagome and the monk who had started innocently inching her way.  The hanyou hugged her tight against his side with one clawed hand on her hip.  The other hand curled just as possessively around the hilt of Tetsusaiga.

"She didn't know what she was doing!  So just BACK-OFF, MONK!"

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

"Take your hands off my mate."

"Kagome Kagome!"  Shippou wrapped his little body around the miko's leg, clinging to it as if to life itself.

"Kagome-sama," Miroku casually stepped around the growling hanyou and gave Kagome his most warm and charming smile.  Grasping her free hand in both of his, he bowed low over it and said, "I would be honored if---"

***THUNK* The lovely sound of Hiraikotsu meeting a thick-head.**

"Stupid monk," Sango mumbled.

Miroku fell to one knee, his head still bowed, though not of his own will now.  He held stubbornly to Kagome's hand, but Inuyasha lifted the girl completely off her feet and swung her around, forcing Miroku to let go.  Kagome quickly forgot about defending her virtue, and demanded that Inuyasha set her down.

The hanyou did nothing of the sort.  In fact, he braced her tighter against him as the monk climbed determinedly to his feet.

Miroku tried to yet again step around the half-youkai, after all, the lovely lady had not yet turned him down, so there was still hope.

Kagome gasped as Inuyasha shoved her behind him, physically putting himself between her and Miroku, and forcing her to let go of the handful of hair she had been tugging at.  Shippou dragged across the ground as she stumbled back.  She tripped over the kitsune, and they both went down.

Inuyasha didn't notice, he was too busy brandishing a fully transformed Tetsusaiga at the monk.  "I'll cut off your freakin' hands so you won't have to worry about Kazaana swallowing you up.  YOU DAMN PERVERT!"

Miroku 'eeped' and ducked under the ridiculously large sword.  Spinning around, Inuyasha brought the blade down in one stroke, imbedding it in the ground and narrowly missing his target.  The monk used the one full second given to him to turn-tail and run.

"WAIT," Sango cried, "You guys, where's Kagome?!"

Inuyasha slid to a stop, Tetsusaiga's point striking the dirt.  He lifted his head and looked around.  Before him a shuddering Miroku held a hand to his heart and gave a great sigh of life-loving relief.

Inuyasha's gold eyes widened.  "Where the hell is Sesshoumaru?!"

Identical expressions passed from face to face.

"Oh shit."

Except Kaede, who calmly shook her head and walked off.

TBC...

Gee, one word can cause so much trouble.  Bad Sesshoumaru!  Ah, yes, how many of you hate me now? ;-D

Question: what is that thing over Sesshoumaru's shoulder?  One person told me it was a tail, another told me it wasn't.  Does anybody know for certain?  Or is it a matter of opinion?  Just thought I'd ask. ^_^

Anyway, thanks for reading!

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I'm attaching this note to all my fics in their next update.  Please read and give me your opinion.

Someone recently asked me if I had a site of my own for fics.  My answer was no.  But then I got to thinking...maybe I should create a site.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe I've ever really seen an IY site dedicated purely to Alternative romance pairings.  That is my question.  How would you feel about an Inuyasha fansite hosting ONLY alternative pairings?

I know that's not enough to go on, so allow me to clarify a little! ^_^

What do I consider an alternative pairing?  Simple, any pairing that isn't a traditional one.  What do I consider a traditional pairing?  In a short list:

Inuyasha/Kagome

Miroku/Sango

Shounen ai, yaoi, shoujo ai, and yuri pairings would be accepted.  Triangles also, even ones featuring a traditional pairing---only so long as they feature an alternative character and do not end with the traditional pairing.  For example, Inuyasha/Kagome/Miroku would be okay only if the triad is kept intact, or if it ends with Mir/Kag OR Inu/Mir.  But not if it ends with Inu/Kag.  I would consider Inu/Kag/Kik acceptable, but it would have to follow the same rules.

Some examples (off the top of my head) of the types of pairings that would be hosted are:

Miroku/Kagome

Inuyasha/Kikyou

Kagome/Sesshoumaru

Inuyasha/Sango

Kagome/Kouga

Sango/Kagome

Sesshoumaru/Naraku

...Basically any pairing besides Inu/Kag and Mir/San.

All ratings would be acceptable, and the proper measures enforced to warn readers of adult material, should they come across it.  Sorry, but I would NOT accept any traditional character/original character couples.  I know there are some well-written mary sues, but only characters created by Rumiko Takahashi would be supported.

I know for a fact that the main pairing of the site would be Sesshoumaru/Kagome, because this couple seems to be the most popular 'alternative' within fanfiction.  That should appeal to quite a few of you!  I know it appeals to me! ^.~

If I get enough interest expressed then I will definitely start work on the site.

So, anyone interested?  ^_^


	5. Chapter Five: The Dance

This chapter turned out a little more serious than I had planned.  But this is the way it wanted to go, and I am nothing but its bitch.  ^.~

So sorry for the wait.  I'm learning there is only so much of me, and only so much that I can do.  I am also learning who my friends really are.  Never a fun lesson.

Disclaimer:  not mine!

Anyway, thanks to all who have reviewed.  At least, those who have sent me encouragement and/or constructive criticism.  There was one person who, it appears, only reviewed to insult me.  But I'm not letting it get to me.  It seems there's always someone now.  In the words of zen-master Hyde, "Whatever." ;-D

Thanks everybody for answering my question!  I still don't know what that fluffy thing on Sesshoumaru's shoulder is, since there were so many different responses, but not knowing no longer bothers me.  I'm kind of leaning toward the idea that it's just something Takahashi added for appearance, and well, to utterly mystify people like me. :-D  What a clever girl she is! ^.~

Also, I want to insist that you read "Three Times A Lady", before you read this fic.  If you have questions, it may answer a few of them.  Any other questions I will work on answering here as the story moves along.

Golly, I hope that's everything.  Anyway, onward march!  And feedback is always appreciated!  ^_^

It Changes Everything

Chapter Five:

The Dance

Inuyasha's Forest was a place of deep woods and even deeper shadows.  But there were breaks in the trees where flowers grew, and small streams that trickled through with life-giving water.  For, after all, it _was_ just a forest.  Somewhere on its eastern side was a meadow, one full of sweet-smelling herbs and bright splashes of wildflowers.

Having landed seconds before, Sesshoumaru carried the struggling girl a few more feet, then nonchalantly dropped her in a patch of weeds.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Sesshoumaru did not respond.  He leaned forward and reached out a clawed hand.  The girl instantly drew back, her eyes wide.  "Now...now...listen here...I don't know what---"

Sesshoumaru stopped, sniffed at the air.  His eyes fell down the length of the girl's body as she half-lay on the ground before him.

A gasp of indignation instantly spilled out of her throat, as she noticed the path of his attention.  "Hentai!" she cried, tugging at the hem of her short kimono, pulling it as best she could over her exposed legs.  Which was when she noticed two green eyes staring up at her.  They blinked.

"KYYAAA...ah?"

Sesshoumaru lifted the kitsune up by his tail, shaking him free of his death-grip on the miko's leg.  The youkai child swiped harmlessly at the bigger youkai, twisting in his grip and kicking his little paws.

"You leave Kagome alone!"

Sesshoumaru stared blankly at the little kit.  "You are not wanted here," he stated.  And with that he tossed the fox, without hesitation or silly fanfare.  Shippou screamed as he went flying, streaking over the highest branches and stirring birds from their roost.  The miko watched fretfully as he transformed, bouncing along the tops of the trees, and then out of sight.

Kagome jumped to her feet, "Hey!  You can't---"

"So you don't want to bear my child."

Kagome promptly forgot about Shippou as the demon lord turned back to her.  She swallowed, her hands falling down to her sides.  They started to shake.

Sesshoumaru calmly reached up and lifted Tenseiga, sheath and all, and laid the powerful sword aside.  Toukijin quickly followed suit.  He grasped one end of his obi and started to pull it free.  "Allow me to change your mind."

Kagome's eyes widened.  She spun around.  _Eh hehe, this isn't happening_...She started rubbing her palms against her skirt.  She took one step, and then another.  She was walking stiffly across the meadow, towards the trees.  Her arms held straight down her sides and a small, confused smile curving her lips.  She had no idea where she was going, her mind was blessedly empty.  The fact that Inuyasha's cold-hearted half-brother was undressing behind her swiftly exiting back didn't really make sense.  Hell, it didn't even register.  The voice in her head was going, 'wow, what a pretty sky!  It never looks like this in Tokyo'.

She froze, her wide and unseeing eyes blinking as Sesshoumaru appeared on her path, completely stopping her in her tense steps.  Her eyes seemed frozen in a moment of shock, wide and blue and not fully aware of what was going on.  Her empty gaze slid down his bare shoulder, and for one second she wondered where that puff of fur he always wore had gone, but then her stare widened.  She spun around again, and started walking the other way.  The polite expression her face had fallen into when the shock had gripped her crumbled a little.  There was a panic starting to shine out of her thawing eyes.

_Get away.  Gotta get away!_

Sesshoumaru stepped into her path again.  Kagome jumped, a startled sound ripped from her throat.  It was as if he had just appeared, as if she had just suddenly come upon him in the woods.  But that wasn't right, and she knew it.  She instantly began backing away, studiously throwing her eyes anywhere but on the powerful inuyoukai that was pacing her step for step.

Her heel banged against something and she had a split-second to think, _I'm falling, before she truly was falling.  She had stepped back into Sesshoumaru's armor as it rested innocently against his pile of discarded clothes._

She closed her eyes, only to open them once more as she felt the impact from an entirely different angle.  Her arm was stretched taut, muscles tense, and her fingernails biting crescent marks into Sesshoumaru's wrist.  His hand was wrapped tightly around her wrist, keeping her balanced precariously on one heel and his hold on her.  Her long dark hair layered upon the ground, moving from time to time with the wind.

He stared at her, and she stared at him, and had he been wearing clothes the scene might have resembled the climax to some passionate dance.  Incidentally, it just looked odd, and somewhat disturbing.

Kagome was frozen in surprise long enough to see that Sesshoumaru's eyes had widened slightly.  Had the surprise left her that moment she might have marveled.  But leave it did not.  The fact that he was completely and utterly nude had finally worked its way back into her awareness.  She started to squirm, pull, she no longer cared for the pain of falling, so long as it took her away from him!

"Shh-shh-shh," he admonished, very quietly.  His fingers tightened and she was just then noticing the tiny trickle of blood that tickled along the underside of her arm.  One of his claws had pierced her skin.  Not deep, or even on purpose, but in response to his grip tightening.  Or maybe in response to her pulling at it.

She wanted to strike out, wrench herself free, but she didn't.  She found herself obeying the softness in his voice, calming, relaxing in his hold.  She blinked up at him and wondered numbly if he had cast some spell on her.

More time passed.  Neither of them were really aware of how much.

"Well," she whispered.

"Stop struggling, and I will set you on your feet."

The problem with this pose was that she couldn't exactly pull herself out of it.  She had no balance, no leverage or anchor, just Sesshoumaru's grip on her wrist.  So it all rested on him, and they both knew it.  It was a new sensation for her, relying on the 'dreaded Sesshoumaru' to keep her safe.  But oddly she knew he would, even if it was just to keep himself safe.

She nodded.

He very slowly drew her up, stepping back as he did so.  She had one foot flat beneathe her, and then the other.  And then she was standing.  Entirely too close to him, but that didn't quite make sense to her at the moment...

Not only had she tripped over his armor, but she had been en route to impaling herself on it.  A half-ring of spikes glinted dully in the last light of evening, and two thicker and closer to her.

She was panting.  "I almost...and you..."  _He what?  Kept you from a senseless death?  Protected himself, is more like it.  We wouldn't even be here if he had kept his damn clothes on_.

She paused at the bitterness in her thoughts, thinking they hadn't been so mean or dark before she came to the Sengoku Jidai.  Sometimes she mourned more for the pieces of herself that kept changing than the ones that just disappeared.  She didn't want to become as jaded and cynical as most of those who walked the world, but sometimes she wondered if it was an inevitable part of growing up.  Shaking her head, she quickly bit down on the path of her thoughts.  She could live with his selfishness if it kept her safe.

She turned, ready to thank him, because that's what you did when someone saved your life...but she found herself rooted to the spot, her mouth open, but the words dying before they passed her lips.

He was still holding her wrist, and he lifted it up slightly, bringing it closer to his own.  There was a line of wounds on his forearm, looking oddly like a trail of tiny moons set in a milk-white sky.  They slowly began to fill with blood.  Her own wrist bore similar markings, though they looked less like crescent moons and more like the sizzling arc of power that followed one of her arrows.  One had not only filled with blood, but spilled over with it.

Time spent in the past had prepared her for the sight of blood, even her own, but it had not prepared her for the sight that followed.  Sesshoumaru, very precisely, bought her wrist to his lips, and licked the wounds clean.

But not that swiftly, oh no.  He ran his tongue lightly up the underside of her arm, then turned it and licked at the small scratches with long, slow strokes.  He stared at her as he did so.

Kagome realized two things in that moment.  That Sesshoumaru could be seductive when he wanted to be.

And that she was in big trouble.

He lowered her wrist, but not to her side.  He placed her open palm on the upper swell of his chest, over the scar she had left on him, and urged her to feel it.

Kagome gulped, her fingers curling into a fist over his heart.  She was beginning to wonder if falling to her death was such a bad thing.  It was certainly more simple.

He just stood there, holding her hand in place, and she realized he was inviting her.  To look, to touch.

To change her mind.

She couldn't really think enough to change a damn thing.

An image of him lying unconscious in the well came to her buzzing mind.  She was leaning over him, his collar spread back and her fingers tracing curiously over the scar her arrow had left him.  Some kind of reminder, she thought, a brand pressed into his flesh by her still untrained magic.  She remembered staring down at him, thinking that no one that beautiful could be real.

He was moving, stepping into the line of her body, and it took Kagome a moment to separate the two versions of him.  He was still holding her hand captive, and she gasped as her forearm pressed in a warm line against his naked chest.  She jerked away, throwing her arm out as if to push him back.

She yelped as her own fury sent her off-balance.  She was falling again, except this time Sesshoumaru caught her around the waist, and her hand was gripping tight onto his shoulder, her fingers digging in.  She couldn't breathe for a moment, the action was so sudden.  She leaned weakly against his one arm and tried to realize what had happened.

It didn't take her long; a lock of his silver hair had fluttered close to the red tie of her school uniform, then lay innocently across her heaving breast.  Her eyes fell on it, then widened considerably.  Her breath began to hitch even more.

She was effectively trapped, with no possible avenue of escape, and she watched the thought flit across his gold eyes.  Had he been given to such expressions, she imagined he would have smirked.  As it was, he tightened his hold on her and leaned forward so that she had to trust even more of her balance to him.  Kagome, having read many books, and seen twice as many movies, knew what was coming.

"Now—now..." she gulped, waving her free hand uselessly at her side.  As usual, Sesshoumaru couldn't be bothered to listen to her.

But he did pause.  In fact, he swept her back on her feet and gripped her tightly against him, the long line of her clothed body pressing hard into the length of his naked one.  She yipped, a sound she wasn't aware she was capable of making, and tried to hold him off with both hands.

But he didn't seem aware of her pushing at him, or the fingers she had wrapped in his hair with every intent to pull.  He turned her more into him, and growled.

She stopped at the growl.

She was suddenly so afraid that, had he not been holding onto her, she would have slid to her knees.

But he wasn't growling at her, it took her awhile to figure that out.  Inuyasha now stood at the edge of trees, his face was blushing-red and she didn't think it had anything to do with his run.  No, probably had everything to do with Sesshoumaru's not quite clothed embraces.

Inuyasha said nothing, drew Tetsusaiga from his side, and pointed the transformed fang at Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru not only set her on her feet, but shoved her away.  He walked calmly to his pile of clothes but did not put any of them on.  Instead he lifted Toukijin and turned back to Inuyasha, the sword held innocently at his side, point toward the earth.

_He's going to fight like that?  Like...Her stare started sliding down his naked chest, as if pulled by gravity, or weighted by her thoughts._

_Ahh!  She covered her eyes like the innocent schoolgirl she was, and quickly spun around.  She did NOT have to see this.  If he and Inuyasha were determined to hack pieces off each other, that didn't mean she had to stand around and witness it.  She was sick of playing referee and buffer to their never-ending sibling feud.  She suddenly realized exactly how annoyed she was---nay, tired._

_I'm going back to the village so these two can kill each other in peace.  And if, by some chance, one of them makes it back...I'll get my bow and shoot them---I'm sure the world will thank me!_

And with that pleasant, and completely untrue thought, the faintly twitching miko started back toward Kaede's village.

_TBC..._

This story is taking a more serious turn in my writing, but I guess, for the sake of the plot, that is to be expected.

_Next Chapter...Will Inuyasha kill Sesshoumaru?  Will Sesshoumaru kill Inuyasha?  And does our favourite pure-bred puppy *ever* put his clothes back on?  ^_^_

How about a reviewer poll?  Is Kagome going to have a nervous breakdown in the course of this fic?  My magic eight ball points to 'definitely', but what do YOU think? :-D

*shakes head*  Sorry people, I've been drinking too much mountain dew again.  I'm kind of not happy with this chapter, but I hope you like it?  I put a lot of work into it, I'm just sorry it's not as funny as some of the other chapters.  Or even funny at all, really.  Eh, well, review and tell me how much you hate it! ^_^


	6. Chapter Six: Peace Talks

Yeah, I struggled a little with this chapter.  Mainly because it divides into several distinct parts, and yet all of them are connected.  Next chapter we begin the countdown to the full moon.  Oh, and expect periods of funny followed by periods of un-funny.  With this plot, there is the potential for both drama and comedy.  And I intend to explore both. ^.~

Thanks to those who have reviewed!  You make this story come to life.

It Changes Everything

Chapter Six:

Peace Talks

A lot of people thought night fell from the sky and settled over the world like a blanket, but in truth it started from beneath the trees and in the shadows of mountains.  It snaked along the ground and spilled upwards into the sky, where the moon, on its celestial path, would add hues of blue and violet, and sometimes amber.  The night was rarely ever true black.

At this last edge of day, the sky was all those colours and more.

"So, what do you think they're doing out there?" Sango remarked nonchalantly, leaning her weight forward onto the fence and staring out into the distant woods.

Miroku leaned back against the fence from the other side, his feet crossed at the ankles and his arms crossed over his chest.  His staff was nestled in the crook between his shoulder and his neck, the wind lightly playing over the metal rings.  Hearing Sango, he lifted his chin and observed the distant trees as well.

"Something completely innocent, I'm sure," he answered her, though his slightly envious tone suggested another matter all-together.

The demon hunter didn't react.  She cradled her cheek in her hand and watched full twighlight creep over the world.  A long minute of silence stretched.  The comfortable silence of companions.

"Houshi-sama?" Sango whispered quietly, folding her arms atop the wooden railing and resting her chin on her wrist.

Miroku leaned toward her, his violet-blue eyes soft in the new darkness.  "Yes, dear Sango?"

"Would you kindly stop molesting my cat?"

Miroku blinked in confusion, then drew back to see that he had placed his hand not on the youkai hunter's back, but on the youkai that was curled up _on_ her back.

Kirara narrowed her wide crimson eyes and lifted a dainty paw, smacking it down on his 'wandering' hand in warning.  The monk blinked.  Did he just get rejected?  BY A CAT?!  With a sigh he retreated back into the boredom of his own personal bubble.  He didn't know why he bothered anymore; it all seemed to go so badly these days.

Sango smirked, looking in the other direction in hopes that he wouldn't see the amused curling of her pretty mouth.  Seeing it, he was suddenly reminded of his 'why'.  Miroku crossed his arms again and smiled out at Inuyasha's Forest, pleased with himself in a way he hadn't been in a long time.

Kirara hopped down from Sango, glanced at the lecherous monk, then thrust her tiny black nose up haughtily as she stalked off to the other side of her mistress.  Humph, stupid monk.

Sango was back to expressionlessly watching the distance.  "You think it's safe for her to be out there in the dark?"

There was no need to elaborate on the 'her'.  They were both fiercely protective of their time-hopping friend.

The monk tilted his head in consideration, but it didn't seem to be of her words.  Sango's hand instantly fluttered up to make sure the collar of her yukata was still in place.  She gripped it closed with tight fingers.

Miroku pouted.  "She is with Sesshoumaru.  As long as the curse holds, she is probably in the safest place she could possibly be."

It didn't exactly make sense to her, but at the same time it did.  It was just hard to think of Sesshoumaru as a 'safe place'.

Another moment passed as they listened to the night-creatures rouse from their daytime rest.  The wind came, stirring glittering black strands from Sango's bound hair and moving lightly across Miroku's bangs.

"So, what do you think they're doing out there," she repeated tediously.

"Something completely innocent," Miroku answered again.  This time the envy was a little more than slight.

"Houshi-sama?"

"Yes, Sango?"

"_Remove. Your. Hand."_

Sigh.  "Yes, Sango."

They both paused.

A warning shudder tightened Sango's shoulders.  She stood, her fingers sliding up to Hiraikotsu's handle as the boomerang's weight balanced habitually on her back.

Miroku straightened completely from the fence.  He held his staff before him in both hands, but not as if for battle.  He glanced at Sango, and she glanced at him, and they shared a look of pure understanding.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Kagome stomped right into the village, completely bypassing Miroku and Sango without a stray glance.  A few seconds later Inuyasha followed, that anxious anger about him that said he had, yet again, upset the girl, and he still wasn't sure how.

"We weren't doing anything!" Kagome hissed, the tone hinting that this was something she had said before.  More than once.

"Oh whatever, bitch!  Taking off clothes and kissing is certainly something!" came Inuyasha's not so delicate bark.

Miroku's eyebrow rose.  Both of Sango's did.  They glanced at each other.  Sango's eyes instantly narrowed.  She stepped back away from the monk and he sighed, keeping both his hands firmly wrapped around his staff, where the demon hunter could see them and know where they weren't.  Golly, he didn't know how she could possibly be thinking about such things at a time like this.

"HE took off HIS clothes!  And there was definitely NO KISSING!  And...and---"

"And I didn't see you complaining!"

"You didn't see everything!"

"Thank the gods!"

"Ohhhh!  OSUWARI!"  With that the enraged girl stomped into the village miko's hut, leaving Inuyasha to twitch on the ground.

Miroku and Sango blinked.

"What was that about?"

"Well, isn't it obvious," Miroku said a few seconds later, looking fully recovered from Hurricane Kagome the Second.

Sango glanced at him curiously.

"Kagome is going to bear Sesshoumaru's child, and Inuyasha is jealous."

A muffled growl came from the nearly broken form that was Inuyasha.  He pushed up onto his hands and knees, and then his feet.  He turned very slowly to glare at the two annoying humans that had somehow come to be traveling with him.  "What. Did. You. Say?"

"Oh, so sorry Inuyasha," Miroku replied, pleasantly helpful, "I'm sure that being crushed to the ground by a string of magic prayer beads is quite disorienting.  What I said was..." Miroku paused, noticing that the half-breed's unusually wide eyes had narrowed down to thin gold slits.  Then it occurred to him what he was saying, and to whom.

"Uh...what I mean is..."

Inuyasha grasped Tetsusaiga's scabbard in his left hand, close to the hilt.  With his thumb he flicked the sword out, and gave the monk three seconds to realize the full scope of what he had just got himself into.

_Oh, for Buddha's sake, Miroku thought.  _With Sesshoumaru around Inuyasha is even more unmanageable.  It's getting so you can't even speak a word_.  The monk conveniently forgot what all his recent words had been, and usually were._

Inuyasha took one step, then bounced off his toes, lunging at the monk as he attempted to sidestep.  Sango brought Hiraikotsu down as a sort of temporary shield, grabbed Miroku and jerked him onto Kirara as the neko youkai transformed and took to the sky.  All her movements seemed habitual.

"Why don't you ever learn, houshi!"

Miroku blinked, securing his hold on the exterminator as they climbed a little higher.  Inuyasha waved Tetsusaiga from the ground and screamed out curses.  "Dear Sango, were you worried about me?"

"It's not like--" Sango's annoyed sentence cut-short with a startled squeak.  Kirara rolled her eyes, then used one of her tails to gracefully sweep Miroku off her back.  She really had had enough of THAT for one day.  

Inuyasha grinned evilly.  Lifting Tetsusaiga high above his head, he charged at the dazed monk.

"Osuwari!"

Inuyasha went skidding across the ground face-first.  Miroku gasped and managed to roll to the side in time to avoid the suddenly dulled point of Tetsusaiga.

Using his staff to steady himself as he climbed to his feet, the monk sent a quick prayer of thanks, not to any god, but to Kagome and her most perfect mouth.  He nodded to her his gratitude, and she nodded back, though her stance remained rigid and her arms stayed crossed angrily over her chest.  She surveyed the scene from Kaede's doorway with something like disdain.

Inuyasha began to stir on the ground and Miroku instantly stepped back, deciding it was time to go.  Sesshoumaru really was bringing chaos into their already unstable group.

Kagome glared at Inuyasha, then her eyes narrowed.  With that she turned her nose up purposefully and stomped back into the hut.  

Inuyasha climbed slowly to his feet, as if each of the bones in his body were grinding together all at once.  He stared at the empty door, his ears flattening against his head.  "What the hell was that?"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Sesshoumaru, a fully clothed Sesshoumaru, watched from a high branch as his brother was yet again subjugated by the petite miko.  He still marveled at the pure beauty of the act, but his appreciation was soon drowned out by questions...

Like, why was she treated as one of the weaker parts of their stupid group, when she was clearly the strongest?  Without attack, or even a look, she had bested his half-brother.  So Inuyasha was a hanyou and weak by nature, she was human and _supposed to be weaker._

His chin suddenly lifted, the curiosity wiped out of his eyes by sheer force of will alone.  _But I, Sesshoumaru, am a full-blooded youkai and not so easily defeated._

Except that he had been.  On three separate occasions.  In one day, no less.

A bird landed in a branch only inches above him.  Sesshoumaru froze.  Well, he somehow became motionless when moments before he had merely been 'unmoved'.  He lifted his head, a slight breeze ruffling the clusters of leaves around him, and blowing silky strands of his hair across his face.  He looked up at the bird.  It looked down at him, tilting its head curiously to the side.

Sesshoumaru blinked.

The bird blinked.

Shaking his head imperceptibly, Sesshoumaru returned his attention to the girl once more, visually following her as she turned back into the small hut.  The surface of his gold eyes remained still, though his mind picked over a thousand thoughts.  His most prominent one being that it was absurd to think such a thing.  Her little spell couldn't work on him...

Right?

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Kagome stared at the curved line of wounds.  Roughly four pointed crescents crossing over the soft underside of her arm, and a single one on the outer-edge.  Beneath the dried blood, her skin flared with heat, signifying the possibility of swelling.  But despite that, they were minor injuries.  Very minor compared to what could have happened.  She frowned.

Kaede wordlessly set down a fresh earthen-bowl of water and began dipping a clean rag over the wounds.  Kagome watched just as quietly as the clear liquid began to take on a ruddy brown tint.

The repetition of Kaede's ministrations seemed to draw the younger miko more out of her aggravation.  She relaxed back a little and sighed, wincing every so often as the rough texture of the rag scratched directly over one of the shallow abrasions.

She was glad for Kaede's silent presence.  The difference in their age was enough to make Kagome look up to her, but she saw her more as an older sister, rather than an adult to her seventeen years.  And though it didn't seem like much, it made it easier for her to say what was on her mind.

"You think I should give into him, don't you?"

Kaede glanced up, her one eye shining with patient wisdom.  A wisdom that had demanded some heavy price, and seemed to give an even heavier burden.  Sometimes Kagome wondered what had happened after Kikyou had died, leaving the village and all its vulnerabilities to Kaede at such a young age.  But she never asked, because Kaede never seemed one to dwell in the past.  Besides the literal sense.

"I think it's your choice," Kaede replied, her age-worn voice neutral.

Kagome cast her eyes to the floor beside her, her frown becoming more pronounced.  It seemed whichever way she turned on this problem was the wrong way.

"But if I don't he'll die."

"Is that your answer?"  Kaede draped the soiled rag over the rim of the bowl and picked up another at her side.  She pressed the dry cloth gently against Kagome's arm, dabbing it over the wounds.

"No...I don't know."  Kagome shook her head minutely, feeling helpless and trapped beneath the gravity of the situation.  Almost instantly the aggravation began to bubble up within her again.  She watched with narrowed eyes as the old miko lifted a pinch of ground herbs from a mortar and sprinkled them over the scratches.

"You have time," Kaede began, wrapping her wrist and forearm.  "Whatever you decide, you should be certain."

Kagome sighed.  "I really don't have THAT kind of time."

"You have three and a half weeks, don't you?"

Kagome nodded.  "What should we do?"

"You should try to change the bandages at least twice a day.  That said, I suggest you carry on as normal while you think, and see where it leads you."  Kaede pushed a box into the younger miko's hands.  Kagome looked down at it curiously.

"Huh?"

"You said you injured him as well."

Understanding lit up her eyes, then embarrassment clouded them.  Kagome took the small white box tighter between her hands and nodded.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Sesshoumaru stared up at the black horizon.  The moon was pale and distant, just beginning to make its nightly path through the sky.  It was entering its last quarter, and after that it would slowly be waning away until the New Moon.

"You hurt her.  I can smell her blood on your hand," came Inuyasha's voice, quiet, but still simmering with anger and accusation.

Sesshoumaru did not turn, though he was finding this particular situation increasingly tedious.  "As you can smell mine on hers.  I did not hurt her and you know it.  Quite the contrary."

Inuyasha growled.  Talking!  He just kept talking!  Hearing his voice was like grinding burning glass into a wound!

Sesshoumaru finally turned, his hand casually draped across Toukijin's hilt.  It wasn't quite a threat yet, more of a warning of purpose.  "I am willing to overlook your presence for now, but do not press me on this half-breed."

Inuyasha's mouth opened, then closed.  Unfortunately, it opened again.  "You are in _my_ territory, messing with _my_ bitch, and you warn _ME not to start something?!"_

"You forget, she is _my_ mate."

"And what the hell did you hope to gain by mating her?!  That I don't get!"

"It had to be done."

Inuyasha stopped dead, forgetting completely his anger for the less comforting caress of confusion.  "Huh?"

"She bested this Sesshoumaru in combat three times, to do otherwise would have been dishonor.  But, being the disgrace that you are, I do not expect you to understand the gravity of such matters."

Inuyasha blinked.  He still didn't get how little Kagome had beaten his brother, alone.  And not once, but three times!  It was like a direct blow to his ego, to think that his elder brother was more wary of a girl who squealed with delight when little bunnies hopped across their path, than him.  And he couldn't very well ask why, because that would be stepping out of the tough-guy character he had worked so hard to build up.  So ignorance and annoying questions it was.

Unless Sesshoumaru suddenly felt loquacious.

Fat chance, that.

Both brothers stopped.  Inuyasha raised his chin and sniffed at the air, while Sesshoumaru simply turned his eyes.  There was a dainty cough, and then the girl in question stepped out from behind a tree.  She clutched something to her breast that was so white it screamed 'target' in the deep darkness of the forest.

Sesshoumaru remained quiet, knowing that his brother would not.

As expected, Inuyasha instantly leaped to block her path.  "What the hell are you doing out here?"

Kagome glared at the hanyou.  What she wanted was to go back and crawl into her sleeping bag, maybe dare to hope for a better day.  But that wasn't happening any time soon.  She was scraping the bottom of the barrel when it came to patience, and Inuyasha was about to find that out the hard way.  "I have just as much right to be out here as you do.  Now shut up and get out of my way!"

Inuyasha's mouth snapped shut as his eyes widened.  He actually took a step back before realizing what he was doing.  By then it was too late to re-take the step.  The miko had brushed past him and was well on her way to Sesshoumaru.

Kagome didn't know how stupid she was going to look with this, but the generous soul in her forced her to persist.  After all, she _was a miko.  Though she was more used to warding off youkai, rather than helping them._

Inuyasha watched her from the side, an angry presence.  She couldn't give him so much attention since it was a general temperament for him.  And at the moment she didn't particularly care.

Stopping before Sesshoumaru, she put on her 'don't even' face and glared at him through slitted blue eyes.

"Give me your hand," she gritted.  She held out her own.

Sesshoumaru stared at her.  He did not blink, nor did he move.  Her waiting hand hung empty between them.

Kagome sighed, wishing she didn't have to go through this with both moronic brothers.  "Give me—"

He placed his clawed hand in hers, and she completely freaked, jumping so that she actually fell back on her butt, painfully.  Sesshoumaru was now the one holding out his hand in empty air.  He knelt at her side as she rubbed pitifully at her lower back, and one of his eyebrows rose.  There was a spark of amusement in his gold eyes, definitely at her expense.

Amused you, did I, she wanted to snap back, then bash him over the head with her first aid kit.  Though she was pretty sure that wasn't what it was intended for.

Kagome pursed her lips together in a decidedly sour expression, then got to her knees.  Instead of hitting him with the kit, she set it gently down before her and opened it.  Taking out some disinfectant wet-wipes, she held her hand out to him once more.  He placed his larger hand in hers without having to be prompted again.  She would have marveled had she not been so damn embarrassed.

Sesshoumaru had decided that the quickest way to gain the girl's favour was to do the exact opposite of his _beloved half-brother.  And the exact opposite was actually listening to her from time to time.  Or, at least, pretending to.  Not an easy task by any means, the way she prattled on sometimes, but he'd faced more difficult battles before.  That last part was slowly becoming a mantra to him._

Tracing a light finger over the path of wounds on his wrist, Kagome raised her eyes to him.  "Why haven't these healed," she asked, "Shouldn't they have at least partially healed by now?"

"I inflicted the same damage on you, now my wounds will heal just as slow."

"Oh..."  That was all she could really think to say to that.  Or maybe 'sorry', but she didn't think she _was_ sorry.  So she busied herself with the task at hand, letting her mind wander as her body moved through the motions that were practically clockwork to her now.

She wondered if maybe she should steer toward nursing as a profession, or pediatrics.  She grinned as she thought of how the gang would react if she were to bring a stethoscope back with her one day.  Shippou-chan would love it, and Sango-chan would marvel and compliment her on the amazing treasures of her world.  Inuyasha would snort and say something to the affect that her time was noisy or it smelled.  Then Miroku would use the small listening device in some inane plot to...

"Hey!"

Inuyasha impatiently knocked them apart, jerking Kagome out of some of the most pleasant thoughts she had had all day.  The miko responded in kind, letting 'the word' fall from her lips in a gesture that was almost automatic.

Sesshoumaru stared down at his brother and imagined how amusing battles with him would be if the miko were truly on his side.  Now that he was fairly certain that her immediate threat to him had been neutralized, he could appreciate her power, and the precision with which she wielded it.  He had also concluded that, had she the ability to use that particular spell on him, she would have done so by now.  He had no reason to be uneasy, he need only sit back and enjoy the show.

After all, if his brother was good for one thing, it was entertainment.

Kagome reached out and once again claimed Sesshoumaru's hand, then abruptly dropped it when she realized she had finished bandaging it some time ago.  Heat rose into her cheeks.  How long had she been fiddling with the gauze while lost in one of her silly daydreams?  The answer was definitely 'too long'.

Inuyasha pushed to his feet slowly, letting the subduing spell wear off completely before he moved.  He stood over Kagome, and instead of looking furious or sullen, he folded his arms over his chest and looked downright thoughtful.

Kagome very nearly swallowed at this new and scary change.

"I can believe that what happened back there was not your fault," he began calmly, "but you are going to have to stay away from him, Kagome.  Don't believe he won't try it again.  _Sesshoumaru-sama_ just loves to repeat himself, doesn't he?"

"What..."

"Did you not hear me the first time?  You are going to stay far, far away from this bastard!"  Inuyasha had his face on that said he had all the answers and was willing to enforce them if needs be.

Kagome stood up, very slowly.  "In case you failed to notice, there is a life on the line here.  I will _not_ walk away from this until we've exhausted all possibilities!"

At the sudden look of horror on Inuyasha's face, Kagome blanched.  "Except for that one, you BAKA!"

"I will not let you walk away," Sesshoumaru stood up behind her, placing a claw on her shoulder to emphasize his point.  The contact seemed to burn heat through her clothes.

Inuyasha immediately growled.  He grasped Tetsusaiga by the hilt and took one step forward.

Kagome stopped him instantly with an upturned palm.  She ducked her shoulder and shrugged Sesshoumaru's hand off.  She couldn't help the shudder that passed through her as his fingers slid down the sleeve of her fuku.  His nearness and touchy-feely mannerisms where she was concerned were seriously beginning to creep her out.

She moved away from him, turning slightly to keep both the dogs in sight.  Only then, when she was standing as an island unto herself, did she become aware of the fact that she had physically stepped between the two.  The realization made her aggravation come sweeping in again, eating away at her like the tide crashing against the shore.

"I'm going to bed," she suddenly announced, causing both brothers to blink.  She pointed at Sesshoumaru, then Inuyasha meaningfully, "And you both better stay away from me for awhile!  Or I will kiss you," her finger pivoted back to Inuyasha, "then I will say 'the word' until you become dust in the ground.  Understood?"  She didn't wait for an answer, she lifted the first aid kit and headed back the way she had come, at a steady, unhurried pace.

Inuyasha stood quietly by and hissed under his breath, completely forgetting for the moment that his older brother was standing not three feet away from him.  "Damn, she's scary," he muttered, not for the first time.

Sesshoumaru would never say it aloud, but at that moment he fully agreed.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Sesshoumaru claimed the tree closest to the old miko's hut as his own, and Inuyasha claimed the roof.  They silently glared across at each other as they settled down to rest.

They glared at each other well into the night.

Once a field mouse passed under Sesshoumaru's tree and they glared at him, too.  But only for a little while.  An owl swooped down and took care of that.

_TBC..._

Next chapter we test the boundaries of everyone's sanity.  Hum.  Actually, we seem to be doing that every chapter.  :-D  How far will sibling rivalry go?  And exactly how far will Kagome go?  All these questions and more tackled...

when y'all answer one little question for me:

WHO WANTS MORE?!

^_^


	7. Chapter Seven: WakeUp Call

Unforgivable. Completely unforgivable. You guys should really flay me for how far behind I've slipped in my updates. It's utterly deplorable. ::bows her head in shame:: I can promise I will be quicker in my next update, though I can't give an exact time for when it will be. I am working on it!

Thanks everybody for reviewing, and for sticking with this story even though I am the worst when it comes to updating. I can't believe it took me this long to get around to the next chapter, but all I can do is apologize repeatedly. And hope this chapter is well-received...And apologize some more. I am so sorry.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Had I owned it, my return from my prolonged hiatus probably would have been met with screams of breach of contract. And lawsuits. And many more not so pleasant things. This is why Rumiko Takahashi will forever own Inuyasha. ::pout::

**It Changes Everything**

**Chapter Seven:**

**Wake-Up Call**

_Day 27: Waxing Gibbous_

¤ ¤ ¤

_Gods, what a wonderful girl she was._

_She knelt there, the creaminess of her skin a lovely contrast between the pleated green folds of her short kimono, and the deeper green of the grass. The fire before her cast enticing shadows over the gentle curves of her face, warming the ebony of her hair with glowing touches of amber. Her eyes seemed darker against the shifting flame, but brighter at the same time. As if something was lighting her up from the inside._

_His eyes instantly diverted to the brimming cup of Ramen she picked up, her delicate hand making a circular motion as she stirred the heavenly mixture with a pair of chopsticks. Steam rose up from it, teasing his sensitive nose with its divine aroma and making him salivate. His fingers twitched, in almost exactly the same way that a certain hentai monk's did in the company of pretty, young females._

_"It's done, finally," she smiled. "I hope you like it."_

_Gimme__, was all he could think as he reached out blindly for the hot dish._

_That she promptly pushed into the hand of the Taiyoukai that was sitting cross-legged on her right._

_Inuyasha sputtered, falling forward onto the ground. Wha?-Why?-How?-but most importantly--NO!!_

_Sesshoumaru glanced down curiously into the depths of Ramen. One eyebrow raised._

_"Oh!" Kagome frowned prettily, as if just realizing something. "That nasty hanyou cut off your arm! Here, let me..." Leaning toward the youkai lord, she placed her left hand on his knee---to help balance herself, of course, and the other hand reached for the chopsticks, trailing slowly over his fingers to get to them. Her hair seemed longer as it swept forward to brush against the upper swell of her breasts. She lifted the chopsticks in her right hand, and Sesshoumaru caressingly grasped her wrist, obediently opening his mouth and letting her feed him. For some reason the action involved much tongue and gratuitous eye-holding._

_Neither had even noticed Inuyasha yet, as the centre of their individual universes seemed to revolve entirely around the other._

_And Inuyasha...Inuyasha hadn't noticed how close to the cheerful blaze he had fallen. A spark popped, landing squarely on the end of one of his silver locks. He squealed as his hair burst into flames, batting at it ineffectually with his clawed hand._

_Kagome and Sesshoumaru continued on, absorbed in each other as if the screeching hanyou rolling on the ground before them didn't even exist._

Inuyasha's eyes blinked open as he heard something moving about inside the hut. When had he fallen asleep? Damn it, the last thing he remembered was thinking that no way was he gonna fall asleep before Sesshoumaru did. His glare immediately sought out that of his bastard half-brother's, reassuring himself that he was still in the tree across from him. He knew it wasn't the Taiyoukai moving around in the building beneathe him because of the same soft shuffling noise that had woke him. While the person inside was being quiet, they weren't being _THAT_ quiet.

Sesshoumaru raised one eyebrow, letting Inuyasha know two things at once. One, he was well aware of the fact that it was barely dawn and someone was stirring within the hut. And two, not only had Inuyasha fallen asleep first, but Sesshoumaru hadn't slept at all. Meaning that for several hours Inuyasha had been completely vulnerable to his brother's superior speed and strength. Ha ha.

Inuyasha twitched.

Sesshoumaru's gold eyes flicked indifferently down to the village miko's door flap, suddenly reminding Inuyasha of the fact that he couldn't see the entrance from his place on the roof. The place that he had chosen. He gnashed his teeth together realizing Sesshoumaru was going to know who was stepping out a full three seconds before he did. And longer if the person chose to stand in the door way. Inuyasha's claws curled angrily into fists at his sides.

A soft rustle announced the lifting of the mat, and two seconds later a familiar dark head emerged, glancing stealthily about before tiptoeing towards the edge of the village, closest to the path that led only one place. The Bone-Eaters Well. In her hand she clutched a familiar yellow backpack, slipping a strap of it carefully over one shoulder so that the entire movement made little to no noise. It seemed she was very good at being quiet, when she wanted to be.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed as his mind quickly forgot Sesshoumaru's presence nearby in favor of watching _his_ miko sneak about, clearly wishing to avoid him. Where the hell did she think she was going?

¤ ¤ ¤

Kagome sighed, pressing both her palms into her eyes tiredly. Her sleep had been fitful at best, made more frustrating by the fact that some of the dreams that had been chasing her throughout the night were...more direct mirrors of reality than others. The worst came to her disguised by reality, but gradually shifted--dangerous images that played upon memory, with generous amounts of imagination.

In short, she didn't know how she was going to look at Sesshoumaru the same way again.

_Sesshoumaru is a very gorgeous creature, even if he is a virtual popsicle_, she reasoned, the darkness behind her eyes chasing with blue under the pressure. With as much as she had seen of him lately...

_Hmmm_, her hands slipped down until her fingers splayed both sides of her face, her wrists pressed together beneathe her chin. She stared up at the half-shadowed ceiling, her pupils huge as her eyes unfocused thoughtfully for one long second.

Ahem.

Oh. Yes, with as much as she had seen of him lately---she couldn't really be held responsible for what her subconscious mind chose to throw at her, now could she? She swallowed audibly, absently noticing how her throat moved beneathe her hands. It wasn't as if she wanted to remember (and expound) on how sleek and powerful he had looked under that harsh armor and all those misleading layers of white silk. Or how he had the most wonderfully defined chest, and a stomach that seemed smoothed for perfection, or how the very lines of his pelvic bones seemed to lead her eyes right down to---

Ahem!

Right, not responsible. Nope, not her. All his fault. His...

His...

_Okay! Time to get up now_, she thought frantically, throwing her sleeping bag to the side and kicking her legs free. It was obvious that she wasn't going to get back to sleep, so there really was no point for her to lie around and give herself more time to think. _Thinking so very bad_.

It was too dark for her to see her watch, but her internal clock told her it was some time in the early morning. She might as well head home and replenish her supplies since she hadn't got around to doing so yesterday (for obvious reasons. Naked youkai, _unfortunately_, being the first that came to mind). If she were lucky it would be early enough for her to sneak off before Inuyasha woke up. She'd just have to walk off the path long enough to cut around the Goshinboku, which was his usual perch when the group stayed in Kaede's village. _Alright, piece of cake_.

And hopefully she wouldn't run into Sesshoumaru. Pause. Gulp.

With that decision, and prayer, in mind she stepped carefully around her companions and picked up the yellow backpack she had dropped against the wall at least two days ago. With a deep, steadying breath she pushed open the flap just enough to slide through, glancing around to see if Inuyasha was nearby.

Satisfied the hanyou hadn't positioned himself in front of the hut like some territorial dog (if he even gave her the impression of lifting his leg she would so scream!), she slipped one strap of her bag over her shoulder and took three silent steps toward the well.

"Bitch!"

"Eee!" Kagome sprung back as a streak of crimson dropped from the sky above and directly into her path. The only thing that saved her from falling hard on her tail-end was the clawed hand that shot out and steadied her on her feet. His hand was much gentler than his voice.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?!"

_So much for prayers.__ Hey, at least I haven't run into Sesshoumaru yet_. Pulling free of Inuyasha's grip, she squared her shoulders and settled her hands defiantly on her hips. The hanyou instantly stepped back, the pose more familiar to him then he would have liked.

"I'm going home for a few hours, Inuyasha. There are some things I need to do," she answered quietly, the softness of her voice confusing him (that _was_ her battle-stance, wasn't it?) until he realized that she was trying to not call on their sleeping friends attention.

Too bad he no such qualms himself.

"No you're not," he snapped, grasping Tetsusaiga at his hip, in a way that was more habitual than threatening. "We've been hanging around this damn village for almost a week now! There are shards out there, and Naraku, and you ain't gonna waste anymore of my freaking time! Do you hear me?!" He added that last when the girl in question suddenly closed her eyes and sighed.

Oh no, she didn't! It was time she realized just exactly who was in charge here!

"Go, miko, if that is what you wish," a cool voice cut Inuyasha off before he could begin his next round of berating.

Inuyasha whirled around and pointed one furious claw at Sesshoumaru, who had long since dropped out of the tree unnoticed. "Stay out of this, bastard!"

Kagome was surprised no doubt, but glad that someone was finally listening to her. It helped that she was too angry at the moment to question his motives as to why.

"Thank you, Sesshoumaru," she said pleasantly, thrusting her free arm through the other strap of her bag, "I'll see _you_ later." And with that she trotted off towards the well before Inuyasha could react.

"Oi! Wha—get back—grrrr" Inuyasha's eyes snapped to the youkai lord and narrowed dangerously. Nobody came between him and Kagome---

"And don't fight with your brother while I'm gone, Inuyasha! Or I will know," she sang back sweetly.

---Except Kagome. Damn.

"It's _my_ Ramen," he growled, tucking his hands stubbornly into the sleeves of his haori. And if his damn half-brother couldn't figure out that that meant Kagome belonged to him as well, then he was a lot stupider than he thought. And that was pretty damn stupid to begin with.

¤ ¤ ¤

Sesshoumaru stared after the miko, curious about both her _and_ the strange yet slightly familiar world she truly belonged to. That is, until he heard Inuyasha's snarled remark.

_What the hell is 'Ramen'_, he wondered as the hanyou leaped into the hut behind him to subtly take his frustrations out on his still sleeping, and utterly innocent, friends.

"Get up you damn bouzu! And stop touching her ass before she---"

**WHAM**

"Ow! Shit! Whatdidya hit me for?! _He's_ the one you're supposed to hit!"

"Inuyasha," came the monk's sweetly smooth tone, "That is no way to speak to a Lady."

**WHAM**

**THUMP**

"And that is no way to be touching this lady, HENTAI!"

"Ha Ha," that was Inuyasha's slightly vindicated laughter, until...

**CHOMP**

"AHH! You little runt!"

"You made Kagome go away again, didn't you?! I'll never forgive you, you bastard!!"

**CHOMPCHOMP**

"Why you---!"

"Shippou! You shouldn't talk like---!"

**CRASH**

"Eeeee! Kagome!"

"Inuyasha!"

"I'm gonna---!"

"Whaaaa! Save me!"

"HENTAI!!!"

**WHAM**

"..."

"Ha. Ha Ha Ha!"

**WHAM**

"..."

"Baka hanyou."

"_Shippou_..."

"Eeep!"

A twitch of the door flap that was too sharp to be wind and the kitsune child went streaking past him into the woods as fast as his little paws would carry him.

A few minutes later the Taijiya emerged from the hut at a more leisurely pace, rotating her neck from side to side with a sigh. Hefting her bathing supplies in one hand and her obnoxiously large boomerang in the other, she nodded politely to Sesshoumaru as she passed him. No doubt on her way to the bathing spring. The neko youkai trotted after her, her black ears swiveling attentively to every sound, though the demon hunter seemed strangely more relaxed than Sesshoumaru had ever encountered her.

Turning back, the wind blew through his hair. The hut was eerily silent behind him.

_TBC..._

I am so so so sorry. Forgive me? ::big, watery Shippou-eyes:: Please????


End file.
